Ultimate guide to Australian F1 Grand Prix

Ultimate guide to Australian F1 Grand Prix

ALBERT Park in Melbourne is once again the first stop on the Formula 1 calendar and with a new year comes new driver line-ups, cars and even the hope for something other than the silver parade of Mercedes dominance that has been a hallmark of the sport for the last half decade.

The biggest news for Australian fans of motorsport's flagship brand is of course that after five years at Red Bull Racing an underappreciated Daniel Ricciardo left the team at the end of the 2018 season to join French outfit Renault on a big-money move.

The Dutchman of course had his fair share of run-ins with the 29-year-old West Australian during their time at Red Bull, especially after what Ricciardo labelled a "s**t show" in Azerbaijan last year when Verstappen moved twice off his line as Ricciardo ploughed into him.

Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping his Renault can beat the Red Bulls.

Something else that will be of interest in Melbourne is just how much of the gap Mercedes has made up on Ferrari since testing in Barcelona.

Overall the Silver Arrows struggled until the final day of testing when a new aerodynamic package allowed them to get close to Ferrari with Hamilton getting to within three hundredths of a second of Vettel and going faster than Charles Leclerc.

Vettel will be hoping the Mercedes has not improved much as he looks to defend his Australian GP title and get off to a flying start as he seeks his first Drivers' Championship since 2013, with Red Bull.

As for Ricciardo he is still seeking his first podium in his home country - with a best finish of fourth coming in 2016 and 2018.

For those who fancy a flutter on Formula 1, Vettel is the early favourite with the TAB at $2.90 to take out the race with Hamilton at $3.25 and Leclerc $3.50. Ricciardo is rated a $101 chance.

Kimi Raikkonen has frequently performed well in Australia.

Of the current drivers in the field Vettel also has the most wins with three, while Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen have two each.